Electric lamp socket with pin tap connecting means



May 24, 1960 F. D. KEELER ETAL 2,938,189

ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET WITH PIN ,TAP CONNECTING MEANS Filed Sept. 23, 1955 IN VEN TORS f/ffflFR/C'k 0. AEELER JOHN 144 PiTf/PSO/V United States Patent ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET WITH PlN TAP CONNECTING MEANS Frederick D. Keeler, Trumbull, Conn., and John W.

Peterson, Douglaston, N.Y., assignors to Gilbert Manufacturing Co., Ind, Long Island City, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 23, 1955, Ser. No. 536,174

4 Claims. (Cl. 339-99) The present invention relates to an electric lamp socket structure and particularly to an electric socket especially adapted for parallel connection singly or in large numbers to a single pair of wire conductors at any desired position thereon.

More particularly still the invention relates to such an electrical socket which is provided with a resilient cllp member so that the socket may be held in position on an object to be lighted or ornamented, such for example as a Christmas tree.

More particularly still the present invention relates to a cap for a socket of the type mentioned above which has a mounting clip made integral therewith by which means the number of parts needed for the complete unit is reduced and the ease of assembly of the parts is greatly increased.

The lamp socket construction is generally similar to that shown in Gilbert Patent No. 2,647,246 and includes prong members having points or pins which penetrate the insulation of a pair of wires so that a plurality of socket structures may be assembled or tapped onto a conductor without stripping the insulation therefrom, thus enabling the sockets to be placed at any desired points along the conductor.

In the construction of the patent mentioned, however, the cap member which held the sockets in place on the conductors serve that function only whereas in the present arrangement the cap member serves not only to hold the socket in position on the conductors and with the prongs penetrating the conductor insulation, but also serves as a clip by means of which the sockets may be held in position as for example on the branches of a Christmas tree.

Furthermore, the construction of the socket body and cap is such that the parts may be readily assembled by machine, the caps being provided in strip form from which the individual caps are taken by the machine and assembled in place on the socket body rendering the assembly operation automatic and therefore making the entire construction less expensive.

It is an object of the invention to provide an electric lamp socket with pin tap connecting means wherein the cap member which holds the socket in place on the conductors serves also as a clip for positioning the socket in a desired location such, for example, as on the branches of a Christmas tree.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a socket and clip combination which is electrically insulated from the electrical conductors.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a socket in which the socket and its cap are arranged for assembly by automatic machinery, whereby the cost of the device is materially reduced.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when thefollowing description is considered in connection with the annexed drawings, in which,

7 Figure l is a top plan view of an electrical lamp socket, cap and clip in accordance with our invention;

52,938,189 Patented May 24, 1950 Figure 2 is a' bottom plan view of the socket of Figure 1 showing particularly the mode of assembling the cap to the socket body;

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the socket of Figures 1 and 2, the view being taken on the plane of the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the socket of the preceding figures, the view being taken on the plane of the line 4-4 of Figure 3, this view showing particularly the arrangement of certain ears of the cap and clip member which pass through the socket body to hold the socket in place on the pair of parallel conductors;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of a modified form of the device in which the combined clip and cap member is held in place by engagement of the edges thereof with grooves in a socket body rather than by the use of cars bent off from the cap member;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the device of Figure 5 further illustrating the construction of that modification;

Figure 7 is a slightly modified form of the device of Figures 5 and 6 wherein certain serrations which were provided on the clip-cap member are omitted and instead the socket body is extended and provided with serrated edges which cooperate with the clip to hold the socket in a desired position; and

Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of the socket and cap or clip of Figure 7.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figures 1 through 4, there is shown therein a socket body a 10 which in this instance has a square base 11. Mounted in grooves in the socket body 10 and extending downwardly are the contact members 12 and 13 which terminate at their lower ends in prongs indicated respectively at 14 and 15. The prongs 14 and 15 are respectively in alignment with conductors 16 and 17 which are in the usual manner laid in a groove 18 in the base portion of the socket. These prongs 14 and 15 penetrate the insulation of conductors 16 and 17 and make direct electrical contact with the conductors proper.

The prongs are forced through the insulation of the conductors 16 and 17 by means of the pressure exerted by a cap 20 which cap is metallic and is formed with the cap portion proper 21, a substantially 180 bend 22 and a clip portion 23 which latter portion is provided with the bent-over serrations or teeth 24. Additionally,

. Figures 1 and 3 are bent over to retain the cap in posiopening in the lamp socket base 11 is provided along the tion on the body and at the same time cause the prongs 14 and 15 to penetrate the insulation of corresponding conductors 16 and 17, thus assuring good electrical contact and at the same time fixing the socket in its position along the conductors.

The entire surface of the cap member 20 may be coated with a vinyl coating so that this member, although metallic, is completely insulated and cannot cause a hazardous condition to exist nor short-circuit the lamp which is placed in the socket 10. The portions of the socket not heretofore described may be similar to the portions shown in the Gilbert patent previously referred to and include central lamp contact 30 formed integrally with member 13 and the circumferentially mounted lamp contact 31 formed integrally with member 12.

In Figures 5 and 6 there is shown a modification of the combined lamp socket and clip in which the mounting cars 25 are omitted and instead the generally rectangular .side edges with inwardly facing projections 32 and the cap is made with the plate member 29 (similar to the plate 21 of Figures 1 through 4) which slides into the groove formed by these projections.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6 the plate member 29 is transversely resilient and serves to exert a pressure against the conductors to hold them in place. Additionally, member 29 is uncoated and for this reason a strip of insulating material 33 is placed between the undersurface of plate 29 and the conductors prior to the assembly of the socket onto the conductors.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a preferred form of this invention. In the arrangement of these figures the plate portion 34 and clip portion 35 of the cap are substantially the same width and the plate portion is provided with a bentover end 36 which serves as a stop. The socket base is here again provided with a rectangular opening, the side edges of which have projecting lips 32 thereon and the plate 34 slides Within these portions. Additionally, plate 34 has barbs 37 struck up therefrom adjacent the side edges thereof and the lips 32 have correspondingly located notches 38, Figure 7, with which the barbs cooperate to lock the cap in its final position. In this form of the invention the entire cap and clip are preferably coated with insulating material such as a vinyl plastic indicated in Figure 7 at 60.

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the clip portion 35 of the cap has no teeth or serrations thereon but instead the socket sides are extended as indicated at 40 and teeth 41 are formed thereon which cooperate with the plain surfaced clip to locate the socket in a desired position. Clearly, however, the socket sides may be made in the manner shown in Figmres 5 and 6 and teeth such as the teeth 2301? Figures 1 through 6 formed on the clip 35.

The barb arrangement described in connection with the Figures 7 and 8 may additionally be utilized in the device of Figures 5 and 6 and will serve the same purpose as does the barb of Figures 7 and 8, namely, to lock the cap member in position on the socket.

. While we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that we wish to be limited not by the foregoing description, but solely by the claims granted to us.

What is claimed is:

i 1. In a pin cap electric lamp socket in combination, a socket body, a base integral with said body, said base having a substantially rectangular opening adapted to accommodate a pair of conductors, said opening having side edges being provided with inwardly facing projections lying in the plane of the outer surface of said base, said projections having notches in the inner facethereof and forming a pair of grooves, prong members in said body and extending into said opening, each said prong member adapted to engage one of said conductors, and a cap slidably received in said grooves covering said opening and pressing said conductors against said prongs, said cap being provided with barbs adjacent the edges thereof, said barbs lying at an angle to the plane of said cap and adapted to cooperate with said notches to lock said cap in position in said groove, said cap having a clip formed integrally therewith, said clip comprising an extension of said cap formed with the returned bend to overlie said cap to grip an object placed between said clip and said cap.

2. In a pin cap electric lamp socket, in combination, a socket body, a base integral with said body and having a substantially rectangular opening therein adapted to accommodate a pair of conductors, said opening having side edges being provided with inwardly facing projections lying in the plane of the outer surface of said base, said projections having notches in the inner face thereof and forming a pair of grooves, prong members in said body and extending into said opening, each said prong members adapted to engage one of said conductors, and a cap slidably received in said grooves and covering said open- 4 ing and pressing said conductors against said prongs, said cap being provided with barbs adjacent the edges thereof, said barbs lying at an angle to the plane of said cap and adapted to cooperate with said notches to lock said cap in position in said groove, said cap having a clip formed integrally therewith, said clip comprising an extension of said cap formed with the returned bend to overlie said cap to grip an object placed between said clip and said cap, said cap member being bent over on itself at the end opposite said returned bend, said bent-over portion serving as a stop and cooperating with said barbs and said notches to determine the location of said cap on said base and to lock said cap in said determined position.

3. In a pin tap electric lamp socket in combination, a socket body, a base integral with said body and having a. substantially rectangular opening therein adapted to accommodate a pair of conductors, said opening having side edges provided with inwardly facing projections lying in the plane of the outer surface of said base, said projectious having notches in the inner face thereof and form ing a pair of grooves, prong members in said body and extending into opening, each of said prong members adapted to engage one of said conductors, and a cap formed of a single continuous longitudinal strip of resilient material bent substantially in half to provide a pair of arms spaced from each other in superimposed aligned relationship adapted to grip a support therebetween, one arm of said cap being slidably received in said grooves and having its outer surface covering said opening and pressing said conductors against said prongs, said one arm being provided with barbs adjacent the edges thereof, said barbs lying at an angle to the plane of said one arm and adapted to cooperate with said notches to lock. said cap in position in said groove. 4. In a pin tap electric lamp socket, in combination, a socket body, a base integral with said body, a substantially rectangular opening in said base adapted to accommodate a pair of conductors and having side edges provided with inwardly facing projections lying in the plane of the outer surface of said base, said projections having notches in the inner faces thereof and forming a pair of grooves, prong members in said body and extending into said opening, each said prong member being adapted to engage one of said conductors, and a cap slidably received in said grooves covering said opening and adapted to press said conductors against said prongs, said cap being provided with barbs adjacent the edges thereof, said barbs lying at an angle to the plane of said cap and being adapted to cooperate with said notches to lock said cap in a predetermined position in said grooves, said cap being formed of a single continuous longitudinal strip of resilient material bent substantially in half to provide a pair of arms spaced from each other in superimposed aligned relationship and adapted to grip an object placed therebetween, one of said arms being further bent over on itself at an end opposite said first mentioned bend, said second mentioned bent-over portion serving as a stop and cooperating with said one arm and said notches to determine the location of said cap in relation to said base to lock said cap in said predetermined position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

